Kathryn Fuller Science for Nature Seminar (WWF-US): Sushi and Satellites: Tracking Giant Bluefin Tunas in the Atlantic & Pacific

Dr. Barbara Block

Dr. Barbara A. Block holds the Charles and Elizabeth Prothro Professor Chair in Marine Sciences at Stanford University. Her research is focused on how large pelagic fishes utilize the open ocean environment. Her team has helped to pioneer the successful development and deployment of electronic tags on tunas, billfishes and sharks. This has led to a rapid increase in the understanding of movement patterns, population structure, critical habitats, physiology and behaviors of pelagic fishes that are also commercially very important. Bluefin tunas especially are highly exploited in international fisheries, and effective management of existing biodiversity requires an understanding of their biology and population structure. Concerned about the real possibility of northern bluefin tuna becoming commercially extinct, and armed with the scientific data to improve management, she teamed with a dedicated group of recreational fishers and other scientists to found the Tag-A-Giant Foundation (TGF) in 2006.